Words From Andyhttp://wordsfromandy.com
enThe Fence Sitterhttp://wordsfromandy.com/node/45
The Fence Sitter<p>I haven’t written anything in a while, but I figured with the election cycle coming up, and the charged political climate, I figured this bared writing.</p>
<p>I can’t really lay claim to this theory, as I really sort of took it from my hunter safety instructor. I know, hunter safety courses don’t seem like a overly good place to be picking up life lessons, other than, you know, how to prevent hypothermia, and not shooting people in the face.</p>
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test<p><a href="http://wordsfromandy.com/node/45" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://wordsfromandy.com/node/45#commentsWords on PoliticsTue, 12 Jun 2012 16:24:52 +0000Andy45 at http://wordsfromandy.comThe Story of the Providence Bufalons or Why US Sports Need Relegationhttp://wordsfromandy.com/node/41
The Story of the Providence Bufalons or Why US Sports Need Relegation<div style="float:left; font-size:10px; margin-right:5px; font-style:italic "><img src="http://www.wordsfromandy.com/sites/default/files/bufalons.gif" alt="The worst team in football" /></div>
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Today I'm gonna tell a story. Well, It's kind of more like a fable, but without animals. Semantics aside, It's a story to prove a point. I'll talk about the point later, first, the story.
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We go to the city of Providence, RI, where there is an NFL team named the Providence Bufalons. The Bufalons are one of the older teams in the league, having been formed in 1920. The team was inherited by Mr. Dwight Edward Dornob, or D. Ed as his friends call him. At first fans welcomed D., as he spent money and spent it well. With a combination of great drafting and amazing free agent pickups, the Bufalons were able to create their storied God's Hammer Offense that was driven on the feet of the teams Hall Fame running back Thurman Sanders.
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Everything seemed to be going the Bufalons way. They were, by every definition, a power house. Though the final prize, a Superbowl ring continued to elude the Bufalons, it seemed that every year there was a chance. Every year there was entertainment... until 1999.
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test<p><a href="http://wordsfromandy.com/node/41" target="_blank">read more</a></p>SportsWords on CultureTue, 03 Nov 2009 23:47:45 +0000Andy41 at http://wordsfromandy.comDisney Buys Marvel: Fan boys retreat to bomb sheltershttp://wordsfromandy.com/node/40
Disney Buys Marvel: Fan boys retreat to bomb shelters<div style="float:right; font-size:10px; margin-right:5px; font-style:italic "><img src="http://www.wordsfromandy.com/sites/default/files/deadpoolmickeymouse_0.jpg" alt="Deadpool with Mickey Mouse ears" /><br/>My favorite comic book character, Deadpool gets ready for the Disney take over.</div>
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Disaster! Red Alert! Armageddon! The world of Marvel is coming to an end faster than The Watcher could have ever guessed! Soon Wolverine will be telling kids the dangers of running with scissors and the fantastic four will be renamed the fabulous four as they take to a Broadway sing and dance routine ala high school musical. Fan boys beware, your only bastian of hope lies with DC. Or, at least that what the knee jerk response to the Disney buy out of Marvel comics would have you believe. The question is, is that a reasonable response? The answer? It's impossible to tell at this point. However, I would venture to say that this move is both beneficial to BOTH Marvel and Disney, and yes, even you comic book fan boy.
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test<p><a href="http://wordsfromandy.com/node/40" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://wordsfromandy.com/node/40#commentsDisneymarvelWords on CultureMon, 31 Aug 2009 22:55:02 +0000Andy40 at http://wordsfromandy.comThe many adventures of bootleg marketinghttp://wordsfromandy.com/node/39
The many adventures of bootleg marketing<p>Ok, so I started a <a href="http://www.youroutdoorsonline.com">website</a> about a year ago dedicated to outdoors type activities and sharing information. I made it in drupal as a project to help me the ins and outs of that content management system. My thinking was that if I were creating a website I was actually going to use, I would be far more inclined to pay attention to it and learn the system. It worked, I now know how to use Drupal, so that end of the spectrum was accomplished (well kinda, I still pick up more and more about it every time I go to do something in it, as it should be) but the problem was I was left with a site I wanted to make usable, but had no users.</p>
<p>What good, after all, are message boards if no one is there to message on them? And there is no user driven content with out users to drive it. This is where I noticed my first of many mistakes, which is OK because that's how we learn. That mistake was I created an area for user generated content with out the users, the only content generator was me, and the scale was far too big for me to handle on my own. So instead of scalling back the website into a managable means, I instead turned to the time tested advertising. After all, like they say, "if you build it, they will come." Well it was built, but they weren't coming. Perhaps they just lost the memo...</p>
<p>This lead me to mistake number two.</p>
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test<p><a href="http://wordsfromandy.com/node/39" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://wordsfromandy.com/node/39#commentsfacebookmarketingwebsiteWords on TechnologyThu, 06 Aug 2009 18:59:32 +0000Andy39 at http://wordsfromandy.comI'm an otter, I'm a news caster.http://wordsfromandy.com/node/37
I&#039;m an otter, I&#039;m a news caster.<p><img src = "http://www.wordsfromandy.com/sites/default/files/1_0.jpg" /></p>
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testhttp://wordsfromandy.com/node/37#commentsNewsRappyWords on CultureSat, 18 Jul 2009 01:15:18 +0000Andy37 at http://wordsfromandy.comI got a Threadless Submission. http://wordsfromandy.com/node/36
I got a Threadless Submission. <div style="float:right; font-size:10px; margin-right:5px; font-style:italic "><img src="http://www.wordsfromandy.com/sites/default/files/small.gif" alt="My threadless submission Buckaneer." /><br/>My Threadless Submission: Buckaneer</br/></div>
<p>Alright guys, I need everyone's help on this one. I just got a threadless design up for submission. What does that mean? Means a design (seen at right) that I designed is up for consideration to be turned into a T-shirt and sold by Threadless. </p>
<p>Cool huh?</p>
<p>So here's the part where I need YOUR help. I'm hoping that everyone will go to Threadless and score <a href="http://www.threadless.com/submission/218924/Buckaneer">my design</a>. You will need a threadless account, so sign up if you don't have one, and then vote. 5s would be great, and if you click on "I'd buy this as a t" that would be really awesome too. Don't forget to spread the word! Tell your friends, your family, your co-workers, your cat, the birds at your bird feeder, etc. All the help I can get would be greatly appreciated. </p>
<p><strong><br /><br /><br /><br />
Again, the link is <a href="http://www.threadless.com/submission/218924/Buckaneer">here.</a></strong></p>
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test<p><a href="http://wordsfromandy.com/node/36" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://wordsfromandy.com/node/36#commentsArtDesignNonsensical UtterancesThreadlessFri, 03 Jul 2009 18:45:27 +0000Andy36 at http://wordsfromandy.comDeath of Kodachromehttp://wordsfromandy.com/node/34
Death of Kodachrome<div style="float:right; font-size:10px; margin-right:5px; font-style:italic "><img src="http://www.wordsfromandy.com/sites/default/files/koda.jpg" alt="A 1949 Kodachrome of the West End of London." /><br/>A 1949 Kodachrome of the West End of London</br/></div>
<p>As someone who identifies themselves as a Rochestarian, or someone from the area of Rochester, I've grown up being surrounded by people who worked for the once picture Juggernaut of Kodak. The company was so large and powerful that anyone within a 70 mile radius knew someone who worked for Kodak or depended on Kodak for their sustainability. Sense then, Kodak has, well, let's just say it hasn't done so well. The digital revolution hit the film industry hard. As a result, the Rochester area as a whole has suffered. </p>
<p>Recently it was announced that Kodak would be discontinuing it's production of Kodachrome, it's color film that they first developed back in 1935. Of course everyone in the city and it's outlying suburbs and country side, are "mourning" the loss of the great film. After all, if Rhymin' Simon sang about it, you know it had to be big. And it was. But the thing is, the stuff was developed only 7 years after the first TV set. In that time TV has gone to color, to digital, to HD, constantly changing. Kodachrome has, well, it's kinda hard to change Kodachrome. </p>
<p>For me this whole thing is like watching a great, great, great grandmother finally pass on after living through cancer, rickets, loosing an eye, gangrene, necrotizing fasciitis, bunions, and being crushed by a rhino stampede at the zoo. Not only was it her time, it was WELL past her time. Same thing with the old Kodachrome. The stuff should have been discontinued years ago, but for some reason, the uper-ups at Kodak didn't think that the digital revolution would reach the serious photography market. They were wrong.</p>
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test<p><a href="http://wordsfromandy.com/node/34" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://wordsfromandy.com/node/34#commentsCultureKodakRochesterWords on CultureWords on TechnologyTue, 23 Jun 2009 20:26:04 +0000Andy34 at http://wordsfromandy.comBrett Favre coming out of retirement? http://wordsfromandy.com/node/33
Brett Favre coming out of retirement? <div style="float:right; font-size:10px; margin-right:5px; font-style:italic "><img src="http://www.wordsfromandy.com/sites/default/files/oldfarvre.jpg" alt="Brett Favre is getting old." /><br/></br/></div>
<p>I've heard talk around the sporting world that Favre is thinking about coming out of retirement, again, cus last time it went so well for him. If you couldn't guess from that slightly smart ass comment I just made, I'm not a really big fan of the idea. </p>
<p>Let me preface this by saying I like Favre. He's the kind of guy when he plays you can tell he really enjoys what he is doing. He enjoys playing football, and I really think the reason he keeps coming back over and over again is that he feels like he'll miss it too much to just stop. I admire that, and if he could still compete then I would admire that even more. But the problem is he can't. The guy in his old age is getting far more fragile, and last year the threw up a lot of interceptions. Is it a sad day for football that it's time for him to hang his helmet up? Yes, but don't forget Marino, Kelly, and Elway. These guys knew when their time was up and gracefully bowed out. </p>
<p>That's the key word that is missing with Favre, gracefully. I really appreciate when guys move to the city they play for and set up roots. Now let me just say that I'm a Miami fan, living in Western New York. It didn't help me too much growing up in "Bill's" territory, but at least my team won a Superbowl. Anyway, one guy I respect as a quarterback and I mentioned him in my last paragraph is Jim Kelly. The guy stopped at the right time, and he stopped for a good reason. His son had been diagnosed with Krabbe disease, and Kelly retired largely due to that. There are things more important in life that playing a game. Sometimes you need to stop, back away, and move on.</p>
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test<p><a href="http://wordsfromandy.com/node/33" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://wordsfromandy.com/node/33#commentsFootballWords on CultureFri, 19 Jun 2009 17:01:34 +0000Andy33 at http://wordsfromandy.comThere is a question mark at the end of the Star Spangled Banner.http://wordsfromandy.com/node/32
There is a question mark at the end of the Star Spangled Banner.<p>Ok, this is something that came up recently while I was at my fiancee's graduation from the Rochester Institute of Technology. For those of you who don't know, the school has a high amount of deaf students who attend there, thanks to the National Technical Institute of the Deaf being located on it's campus. While the national anthem being performed, I was following along on the closed captioning large screen tv, and I noticed something, the question mark at the end of the song was missing. </p>
<p>Some of you are probably firing up Wikipedia right now to check the lyrics to see if there is, in fact, a question mark at the end. Others are probably wondering why it's such a big deal. Really, the reason why it kind of bugs me is that people seem to not really know what the anthem is about, they just kinda mindlessly sing the lyrics without really knowing what they mean. Wanna see what I mean? I got a video. </p>
<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/zwyiwo9NM8o&hl=en&fs=1&" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always" /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/zwyiwo9NM8o&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>
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test<p><a href="http://wordsfromandy.com/node/32" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://wordsfromandy.com/node/32#commentshistoryNational AnthemWords on CultureSat, 13 Jun 2009 20:12:46 +0000Andy32 at http://wordsfromandy.comWhy do we suddenly develop foreign accents when saying foreign names? http://wordsfromandy.com/node/30
Why do we suddenly develop foreign accents when saying foreign names? <p>Ever since President Obama appointed Sonia Sotomayor to take over the vacant seat that was left by retiring supreme court justice David Souter, I've been noticing something odd. It appears that news casters are suddenly developing Spanish accents when pronouncing Sotomayors last name. Granted, it is a name, and you do want to make sure it is pronounced correctly. So I can give the media a pass on this, but it did make me think of how people will spontaneously break into a foreign accent when talking.</p>
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test<p><a href="http://wordsfromandy.com/node/30" target="_blank">read more</a></p>http://wordsfromandy.com/node/30#commentscurrent eventshuman quirksspeechWords on CultureTue, 02 Jun 2009 19:22:44 +0000Andy30 at http://wordsfromandy.com